    |
|
 |
 |
| A Study of Matthew 2:1-12 | |
|
|
| This study contains Greek or Hebrew words. They will
appear as scrambled letters enclosed in <brackets> unless you have the appropriate
fonts installed on your computer. See the Information
about this web site page for more information. Introduction Ever since we were children, we have heard the story of the wise men bringing gifts to Jesus. We know very little about these wise men except that they came from the east of Judea. Justin Martyr about 150 A.D. writes that the wise men were from Arabia, and Hill points out that all three gifts were products of Arabia. Fausset maintains that the wise men were from Persia. The Greek used here is < magoi> magoi.Although wise men are seen throughout the courts of the Middle East as spiritual advisers, the term was used in many ways to simply mean possessors of special knowledge. That the wise men may have been important and influential members of some eastern nation is possible considering their generous gifts. But these men were not pagan. They came to Israel to worship the coming King of the Jews, God’s chosen nation. They trusted in God in their journey and listened to his warning after they had seen the Christ Child. We usually remember the wise men by their three gifts. But I think they gave God far more than the three gifts recorded in scripture. In fact, I think they really gave God eight gifts that had nothing to do with gold, frankincense and myrrh. As we examine these anonymous men, let us learn what they really gave, and perhaps also ask ourselves, What gifts can we bring? Verse 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, This verse does not tell us how many wise men came to Jesus. In fact, nowhere in the Bible does it tell us. The notion of three wise men comes from the three gifts. McGee suggests that there had to be more wise men than three because Jerusalem would not have been in such a stir as recorded in verse 3 over so few wise men. He suggests 300! Whether there were 3 or 30 or 300, we can’t tell, but we do know that they had to give God much more than their three gifts in order to make the long journey to Israel. This verse show us Gift 1. They had to give God their actions. The wise men saw the star and believed it announced the birth of the Messiah. But they didn’t stop there. They decided to make the long journey to worship the new king. They had traveled a great distance. Perhaps they had sacrificed greatly to make this trip. Certainly some activities that they wanted to do would have to be postponed until after their return. Are we willing to give God our actions? Do we put actions behind our beliefs? Verse 2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." This is Gift 2. They had to give God their minds. They had studied the scripture, or they had learned it from Jews in their country, for they knew the verse in Numbers 24:17, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel...." So when they saw the star in the east, they intellectually understood the prophetic importance. Their minds were turned toward God. Origen writes about 250 A.D. concerning the ancient perception of the appearance of heavenly bodies, "If, then, at the commencement of new dynasties, or on the occasion of other important events, there arises a comet so called, or any similar celestial body, why should it be matter of wonder that at the birth of Him who was to introduce a new doctrine to the human race, and to make known His teaching not only to Jews, but also to Greeks, and to many of the barbarous nations besides, a star should have arisen?" These men were knowledgeable men. They studied astronomy and they studied scripture. They understood when there was a change in the heavenly bodies, and they understood what the Bible was teaching about the coming Messiah. Do we give God our intellect? Do we study to know what the Bible teaches? Verses 3-8 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.’ " Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." They came to the nation of Israel to find the new Jewish king. But apparently the star was not guiding them at this point. It had appeared in the night sky at the beginning of their journey but now could not be seen. So they came to the capital of Israel and to its ruler – Herod. They came to find out what the Hebrew scriptures would tell them about the possible birthplace of the new king. This is Gift 3 to God. They were willing to learn. And notice that the scribes had the answer. The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. The religious leaders of Israel knew where Jesus was to be born, but they weren’t going there to find the king. God caused men from hundreds of miles away from foreign countries to come worship his son. Are we also willing to learn? Are we willing to ask questions and learn new truth from the scriptures? Verse 9a When they had heard the king they went their way; Now we come to Gift 4. They had to give their faith. They apparently were not Jews and did not understand the Hebrew scriptures that well. And yet they were willing to go by faith. In fact their whole journey was made on faith. They initially had seen a star in the sky, but it was not what had guided them to Jerusalem. They had come on faith. It is not until the next verse that these wise men are actually guided by the star. They had made the long journey entirely on faith. Many times God wants us to make a journey of faith. He asks us to step out into new areas where we haven’t gone before. We may not be sure of exactly where we’re going, but we are asked to go in faith. Are we willing to trust God as much as the wise men? Are we willing to give God our faith? Verse 9b-10 And lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. This is the verse that seems to tell us that the wise men had been traveling without the guidance of the star until this moment. It was only after they had made their journey of faith that God revealed to them the star to confirm their trust in him. It was then that they gave God Gift 5. They gave him their joy. As they saw the re-appearance of the Bethlehem star, they rejoiced greatly in the Lord. Their joy was not in the things of this world, in their intellect, and not even in their companionship. They rejoiced in God. Do we give God our joy? Do we rejoice in him throughout the day, or do we spend a lot of time moaning and complaining? Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" God wants us to be joyful Christians. Let us learn to rejoice in him. Verse 11a And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Notice they found Mary and Jesus in a house. It may have taken the wise men a long time to find the king of the Jews. Mary and Joseph were no longer in the stable. Perhaps they were inclined to return to Nazareth, but God had delayed their departure. Maybe Mary and Joseph were upset over the circumstances that caused the delay, but God in his timing wanted Jesus to still be in Bethlehem when the wise men arrived. As the wise men arrived at the house, they gave Gift 6. They gave God their praise. They worshipped him. This verse says they "fell down and worshipped him." They did not give half-hearted praise. This was the culmination of their long journey. Do we worship our Lord? Do we spent time praising and honoring him? Or are we too busy to kneel before our Savior? The wise men had traveled by faith to an unknown city trusting in the promises of God’s word. Now, they worshipped him. May we do the same during this Christmas season. May we spend time worshipping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Verse 11b Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Notice this verse says they opened their treasures. This is Gift 7. They gave God material gifts. They were willing to part with their gold and their treasure for the kingdom of God. They had not made this long journey just so they could be blessed. They had not come to be able to tell others that they had seen the Messiah. They came to give him gifts. As Hill writes, "...the giving of gifts in the ancient East indicates submission and allegiance." They were willing to part with their gold and other expensive treasures of this world. Are we as willing to part with our worldly possessions? They all belong to God anyway. Let us be like the wise men – willing to give. From verse 13 it seems apparent that Joseph and Mary would need these gifts to finance their coming flight to Egypt to avoid Herod’s wrath. Verse 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. After paying homage to the Messiah, God warned the wise men in a dream to depart another way. This meant they would have to make a longer journey back and go out of their way to avoid Jerusalem. But they did not argue with God. Instead they gave him Gift 8. They gave God their obedience. They listened to God and obeyed him. No doubt they were tired and weary from their long journey. They had traveled hundreds of miles on an unknown quest to an unknown city to find a baby that they could only accept on faith would be the future king of Israel. But they were willing to be inconvenienced in order to obey God. Are we as willing to obey God? Will we listen to his commands even when it causes us hardship and difficulties? We know the wise men brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh as gifts to the Christ Child. Perhaps we cannot bring such treasures to him. But we can bring to God the far more important gifts that the wise men brought. We can bring to God our actions, our minds, our willingness to learn, our faith, our joy, our worship, our offerings, and our obedience. If we do these things, then we will truly be ... wise men! Footnotes: This study of Matthew 2:1-12 © 1997 by David Humpal. All rights
reserved. |
 |
